Abused Angels
by YUKIIN
Summary: We all know Derek's a bully. We all know how he treats Edwin now. But what about in the past? Derek's actions cause Edwin to accidently find a friend on the internet who tell's Edwin to do a terrible thing. Edwin listens.
1. A Chance

A boy of eleven finished pulling his books out of his locker, throwing them into his bag and the bag over his shoulder. He slammed his locker closed it and started to walk down the hall. Now that he was in middle school, he had one. He had et to decide if lockers or desks that you put your things in were more convenient.

"Edwin," an older boy, a thirteen year old, eighth grader said, "My science paper wasn't in my bag. Where is it?" The words were harsh.

"I-I don't know D-Derek," the younger boy, Edwin stuttered as the older boy walked up the now empty hall to where Edwin stood beside his locker.

Derek came up to Edwin and pushed him against the locker. "Where's my paper? You didn't not do it did you? Or did loose it?" The accusations rained from the older to younger boy

"I did the p-paper," said Edwin his hands balling into fists, digging his nails into his palms, willing himself to scream or to cry or to shout out or even to run. These fists were not to hit Derek, his older brother with. That would be unacceptable.

Derek grabbed one of Edwin's arms turned it over so the palm was face up. Derek pushed the sleeve up and looked at the cuts along the arm, some healed, some had formed into scars and some were still covered in scabs. Edwin had not done this to himself. He had no need to for Derek did plenty of it to him.

"Do I really need to punish you again?" asked Derek, digging his own nails into his little brother's arm which he held tightly.

"N-no," stuttered Edwin. "P-please don't. I d-did the paper."

"Then why wasn't it in my bag?"

"I-I had m-my own homework and I f-f-forgot about it," stuttered Edwin, afraid of what the new ways his brother might just come up with to torture him.

"Well, it'll be the last time you forget," said Derek, dropping Edwin's arm and grabbing Edwin by his shirt collar. Derek pulled his other arm back for a punch.

"Boy?" said the voice of a janitor as he rounded the corner. He only saw Derek with arm raised in what he assumed was a stretching position. The janitor was partially deaf, practially blind and daft in his old age. The school only kept him on because he had been there so long. "Shouldn't you have gone home long ago?"

"Sorry," said Derek turning around, dropping both his arms all at once. "I was trying to…..convince….my little brother to come home," Derek explained innocently, once again making it look like Edwin was the bad guy.

"Well, hurry up," said the janitor turning and shuffling away.

Edwin sighed and started to inch away from Derek during this exchange.

Once the janitor was out of earshot, Derek whirled around and said, "Saved by the bell this time dear little brother. Well, I'll just have to take care of your "punishment" later."

Derek picked up his bag which he had dropped at the beginning of this exchange and walked away, Edwin following silently, ten or so steps behind. He willed himself to remain quiet. Silence was the best defense.

"Today," said Derek. "I have a social studies essay on whether or not slavery in Africa was right. I'm for it so remember that when you write the essay and math. Pages sixty through sixty one are due Wednesday.

"Yes," said Edwin quietly. Today was Monday. He figured Derek's math into his own homework schedule along with the essay. African slavery, in Africa, had bee quite different from slavery in America. In Africa, slaves had a chance of gaining some freedom back. They were generally adopted into lineages. In America, slaves had no such chance since it was whites, a different race that owned the Africans. Everyone in power assumed that Africans would never fight back, never expect to own land, have a say in governement or to be anything but a slave. Edwin figured he could come up with an argument making African slavery okay, in comparison in American slavery... Edwin started writing the paper in his head.

Since they lived close to the middle school, Derek and Edwin walked to and from school everyday, since their dad worked a lot. They were soon home and Derek grabbed some chips and soda and plopped on the couch with the TV remote, only after throwing his school bag at Edwin. Edwin quickly ran up the stairs, nearly silent and into his room where he dropped everything on his bed and booted up his computer. He'd gotten it last Christmas and loved it dearly. If it wasn't for the computer he wouldn't know how to handle the combined work load of his and Derek's homework.

Ever since Edwin had been in second grade, he could remember doing Derek's homework. At first he hadn't realized what he was doing since Derek told him this was special work and that if he did it he would become more like his brother, whom Edwin aspired to be.

Edwin wasn't completely naïve and slowly started to recognize that he was being "used." Of course he didn't know what being "used" meant but all the same, he knew what was going on wasn't right.

It was the middle of third grade when Edwin had finally gotten the courage after a year and a half of doing Derek's homework to confront him about it.

"Why?" Edwin had said to Derek. "Why do I have to do your homework? I do have my own you know." Edwin had learned what this work actually was.

"So you can become like me," said Derek, feeding Edwin the same lie that he had been feeding him since the beginning.

"That's a lie," Edwin stated. "I'm not doing your homework anymore. You can do it yourself."

That's when the abuse started, little things at first. Derek, who had been watching T.V when Edwin had confronted him had gotten up, walked over to Edwin and had pinched him on the cheek. Hard. It slowly escalated. Pushing and shoving "accidentally" into things at first. For the most part this only left bruises and even then not big ones, or terrible ones. Ones that generally healed in a week or so. This happened through third and most of fourth grade.

It was the end of fourth grade, Derek in sixth that the real abuse started. Edwin had refused to do Derek's science project after Derek had shoved Edwin into the fridge the previous night for getting an A- on a science paper of Derek's. Derek had needed a ninety-seven to pass the class. Edwin was just fed up with everything and hadn't yet had his spirit broken. Not quite at least.

Derek went berserk and ended up slamming Edwin so hard down the stairs and Edwin had to have stitches in his head. Edwin could still remember the pain. Derek of course hadn't gotten into trouble at this time and said Edwin had been running and slipped down the stairs. Derek never apologized for pushing Edwin down the stairs. Things only got worse.

But some good did come of this. If Derek had never started forcing Edwin to do his homework, Edwin would never of gotten a computer. If he'd never gotten a computer he would of never met SoccerGirlABSED. But that only happens later. Not much later, but still, later.

Edwin sat down in front of his computer and pulled up Microsoft Word and the Internet. He went to his e-mail and scanned through the spam, which was basically all he ever got. It was still entertaining to look at and it did brighten his day, just a little bit, to see that he had ten new e-mails in his inbox everyday. Every now and then he'd come across something good but this was rarely.

One subject title did catch his eye today though. "An Abused Angel," it said. Curiously, Edwin opened the e-mail and began to read. It was a poem.

_An angel am I,_

_Yet nobody cares._

_All they do is yell,_

_And hit. That is it._

_The other night,_

_It was worse._

_The curse words stung the air._

_The bruises were the worst, ever._

_The cuts, deep and wide._

_Like oceans._

_No one deserves this,_

_No matter what they say._

_Are you abused?_

_Yet can not say so?_

_Then click on the link._

_Come to heaven._

_A place for all us abused angels._

It wasn't exactly a poem, Edwin decided. Not even a very good freeverse. It had practically no rhythm, no rhyme. The ocean metaphor was good. But he didn't actively dwell on that. His thoughts were, 'This poor person! How could anyone do this?'

Edwin stared at the blue link beneath the poem, his thoughts swirling, changing, realizing that he was in a similar predicament. Could these people really help him? Could they actually stop Derek? How had they known anyways? Or was it pure dumb luck? Whatever the case, Edwin groped for the mouse and then clicked on the link. Nothing worse could happen now.

Once the page was loaded, the screen was filled with a soft blue. A pretty angel girl stood at the top of the page and beneath it the word "Welcome" was in another shade of blue. Then there were two links. Sign up and log in. Edwin clicked on Sign Up and filled in his information, choosing the name Math_Kid. He soon clicked the confirmation e-mail in his inbox and was exploring the site.

Edwin soon found the forums and one was titled "Share Your Story." He went into it and started to read some of the people's stories. A lot of these people were worse off then him, abused not just physically by their parents but sexually and verbally. Completely different situations than his. His was just his brother, really, at the heart of the situation, just an extreme version of sibling rivalry. Most of the time, Edwin couldn't finish a single story. But then, he found one story he could finish.

It was only a paragraph long and was written by a girl called SoccerGirlABSED. No one had responded to her message. The message was:

_I was abused for three years by my sister. She would pinch and prod and feed me hot sauce. That was on the kind days. But I got sick of it and one day rebelled against her. Sure, I ended up in the hospital for two days but I am free of her abuse. I am free to be happy and free to live a new life. I'm free. Free as and angel. I'll help for become free as a bird too. Just drop me a message._

The first thing that went through Edwin's head was that this girl was just like Edwin. She had a sibling that abused her. The second thing was that she was no longer abused by her sibling. His mouse cursor hesitated over the message button. What would she say to him? What would she be like? Could she actually help or was it a lie? Well, he reasoned, he wouldn't know until he tried. He clicked on the button.

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Original Reviews:

marzbarxo - well done, beautifully written...i hate derek as the bad guy though...lol...can't wait for the rest (2007-12-23)

Someone Stole My Cookie - Oh my gosh...OH MY GOSH! You need to update NOW!! Like...right now! lol this fic is A. MA. ZING. and it needs to be continued, great work! (2007-12-23)

Lady Azura - This story has me intrigued... I can't wait for the next chapter. :)

Also, I'm just going to take a wild guess and say that the one message that Edwin just read is from... Lizzie.

Am I right? ;D (2007-12-23)

DreamForever03 - i like it so far! keep it up =D (2008-01-01)

Ghostwriter - Can't really see Derek doing that, but this is a good AU. Catch ya on the flip side. (2008-01-10)

agroxneko - Oh, this is god! Post the next chapter soon! :D (2008-01-11)

tilvir12 - Good, Sora i like the next part of it (2008-01-14)

Hoshi-Chanx - Hi Sora!! Great story! I believe that I understand it. (2008-06-24)

*Edited: 2009-12-12 by Miyamoto Yuki (YUKIIN)*


	2. Meeting

It was three days later and still Edwin had not received an answer to his message. He was starting to think that he was never going to get one. The math problems and social studies had been turned in and were sure to be given A's thanks to Edwin's hours of research, numerous rough drafts, and solving the same problem five times to be sure he had the right answer. Right now he was typing a response to the first chapter of a book that Derek was being required to read for language arts. It was a very good book in Edwin's opinion, but alas, the work was still pushed onto Edwin. The only things Derek read were the T.V guide and the sports section of the newspaper… on a good day.

"You got mail!" the computer said softly in a male falsetto. It was the only free voice on Edwin's e-mail site. Edwin pulled up his inbox and opened up the message. It was from that girl he had e-mailed. SoccerGirlABSED. He was finally going to get an answer. He opened up the message and quickly read the words across the screen.

_Hi. Sorry it took so long to answer. Soccer match. Hopefully nothing too bad has happened in my absence and I'm real glad that you want some help. Just give me the basics of the situation and I'll send back some advice._

_Hey, you wanna be friends? I'd like to do so. Umm… do you like math? I could use some help…_

A slow smile spread across Edwin's face and he replied immediately. Of course he wanted to be friends, he said. He also explained about his brother Derek and what he would do as "punishment." He also said that he would be more than happy to help her with her math and to just send over the problems. He'd help her.

The message was sent and Edwin continued to be happy, right through dinner.

"You seem awfully happy," commented George nonchalantly. "Something happen today at school?" He put a piece of bread in his mouth.

"No," said Edwin, his smile quickly disappearing, fearing Derek might do something later on or even tomorrow. "I just…. Got a really good group for a science lab at school," Edwin quickly fibbed.

"I see," said George. He knew Edwin generally found school easy. George just didn't know that was because Edwin had done a lot of the same work and learned a lot of the same material two years prior on his own. "How was your day, Derek?"

"Really good," said Derek, ripping up his steak with his fork and knife, almost clumsily. "I handed in today with confidence an essay and math homework. I believe I'll get another A on them."

George nodded and said, "I just don't understand how you do so well on the normal work but not on the tests…." Said George with a sigh. "I suppose it's just nerves, test anxiety..."

"Yeah, nerves," said Derek casting a sharp glace at Edwin while George got up and took his plate over to the sink.

Four year old Marti laughed at this and ended up with corn up her nose.

"Marti," said George, coming over with a tissue, "Please try and me more careful."

"Otay," said Marti as she blew through her nose to get the corn out.

Edwin couldn't help but smile at his younger sister who hardly knew that Edwin was her older brother. Derek had made sure of this, making it seem like he was Marti's only older brother and cuddled and played games with her and treated her like a little princess. Edwin could never understand why Derek didn't like him but did like Marti. That was some useful information he had forgotten to tell SoccerGirlABSED. He'd have to remember next time.

"What are you smiling at?" said Derek almost hostilely.

"N-nothing," stammered Edwin quickly averting his eyes to look at something else, anything else. His eyes found a picture of an apple on the wall that George had bought at a street fair some years ago and had hung on that particular wall ever since.

Dinner was soon ended with George taking Marti upstairs for a bath and Derek pushing dish duty off onto Edwin once again. Luckily, Edwin liked dishwashing. He used the time to be able to think about everything. But today he would not be so lucky since Derek decided to torture him with banter.

"You told him didn't you?" said Derek slowly pulling on Edwin's hair.

Without crying out, Edwin managed to choke out, "No, I haven't."

"Then why exactly are you so happy?" said Derek letting go of Edwin's hair and proceeding to pinch him on a bruise.

"I met someone," said Edwin through gritted teeth.

"Who?" said Derek, pinching harder.

"No one important to you," said Edwin.

Derek let go. "Forget about them. No one likes you. No one. Not me, not Marti, not the teachers, not anyone. Even Dad just pretends." With one last whack to Edwin's head, Derek claimed the couch.

Edwin sighed. How on earth was he going to keep the Abused Angels site a secret? How would he manage to with Derek prying into every aspect of his life?

_A/N: Sorry for it being shorter! I just can't think of anything else as the moment and it was a nice cliffhanger and thank you so much for all the reviews and being paitent for me to update this story! A special that of Tilvir for yelling at me to update at school!_

* * *

Original Reviews:

Someone Stole My Cookie - I loved this chapter! THis story has got to be the best non-DAsey I've ever read...and it hasn't been many since this whole site is basically a DAsey-sentric zone. Lol, once again, cuz I Can't say it enough, I love it!

Please update soon! (2008-01-24)

Writing Critic - I love it! This story is awesome! Please write more.. (2008-01-24)

DreamForever03 - really good! glad edwin and the girl r gunna be friends. derek is a meanie lol update soon (2008-01-24)

Lady Azura - Finally! You updated! It seems like it's been ages!

A short chapter, yes, but a good update. I can't wait for the next! (2008-01-24)

Vince13 - very interesting story I look forward to more chapters. (2008-01-24)

Mrs J Whitlock 4-eva - update soon can't wait to read more (2008-01-25)

Ghostwriter - Good chap. Catch ya on the flip side. (2008-01-25)

KitsuneHi344 - update soon, i absolutely love lizwin, so please update, i'm begging you (2008-02-05)

*Edited: 2009-12-12 by Miyamoto Yuki (YUKIIN)


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